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And Ford was bombarded from morning until evening with questions on an ongoing crack cocaine scandal that threatens his career. He refused to offer any answers.

On his 44th birthday, Ford attempted on Tuesday to complete a routine day of administration business: chairing his executive committee, meeting with schoolchildren, criticizing proposed new taxes. But the scandal continued to consume city hall even as the mayor maintained his silence.

The Star reported Tuesday that Ford aide David Price had mentioned the video’s possible location to since-fired chief of staff Mark Towhey. When Ford was asked in the morning why members of his staff appear to think the video exists, he said, “Ask my staff.”

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Price did not respond to questions posed to him.

Ford was questioned by a large group of reporters upon his arrival at his office, whenever he left the committee meeting, and after a speech on Metrolinx’s transit tax recommendations.

He has not answered a single media question on the 12-day-old scandal in detail, and again provided no information.

When Ford was asked after the evening speech for even a general response to new revelations in the scandal, he said, “I’ve addressed those concerns.”

Reporters shouted that he had not. Ignoring them, Ford offered to speak about transit and taxes, then left the room.

There were no known resignations from Ford’s diminished office a day after the abrupt departure of his two communications staffers. Acting chief of staff Earl Provost said “yes” when asked by the Star if he plans to stay.

“Everything’s great,” Provost said. When asked about the mayor’s agenda, he said, “We’re working that out.”

Holyday said, however, he is not sure if the video is real or fake. And he said he does not think Ford was lying when the mayor said on his Sunday radio show that the video “doesn’t exist.”

“From his standpoint, he claims that he was not in the video, that he knows nothing of the video and that he believes that the video does not exist. That's his opinion, based on what he’s been told and what he believes. I, on the other hand, have talked to Robyn Doolittle and I believe Robyn Doolittle saw a video, that’s all I’m saying. Whether it’s authentic or not is another question . . . nobody will know until we find the video.”

Crawford, another member of Ford’s executive, also said he believes reporters who said they saw a video. He also said he is not sure what the video shows or if it is authentic. “I would love to see a video, I’d love to see something come forward,” Crawford said.

The video has been seen by two Star reporters and the editor of the U.S. website Gawker. The Star reporters have described seeing a video showing an incoherent and rambling Ford smoking what appears to be a crack pipe and making homophobic and racially charged statements. The reporters were shown the video by a man who said he shot it on an iPhone.

On Tuesday, Ford and some of his staffers and allies gathered in his office to eat a football-themed cake. Smiling and appearing relaxed, the mayor even emerged from the office to offer cake to the media, a day after apologizing for calling journalists a “bunch of maggots.”

Earlier, a group of four women showed up with a different cake that read “Happy Birthday Rob, Please Resign.” Mugging for the cameras, they sang, to the tune of “Happy Birthday,” “Happy birthday, Rob Ford. Please resign, Rob Ford.”

Duncan, now a businessman, made a more traditional resignation call. He said the provincial government should intervene to push Ford aside, noting the situation at city hall is a “gong show” that is doing “horrible damage” to the city.

The executive committee meeting proceeded without interruption. As he did in 2011 and 2012, Ford sat quietly through a lengthy discussion of the politics and history of the Middle East as the committee considered proposals that would make it more difficult for the activist group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid to march in the Pride parade.

With Ford’s support, the committee voted to require Pride to spend its city grant on festival events other than the signature parade. But Pride’s co-chair said the policy would have no effect even if it were approved by council, since city money never goes to the parade itself.

When the committee discussed a review of council ward boundaries, Ford argued that council should be cut to 25 councillors from the current 44. The committee approved Ford’s motion to ask a consulting firm to include “a possible reduction in the number of wards” as one of the options for council to consider in 2016.

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